William E. Gahlberg, 1930-2012

William E. Gahlberg developed large tracts of land across suburban Chicago, overseeing projects that included the 728-acre Remington Lakes business park in Bolingbrook, the 305-acre Corporate West office park in Lisle and the 900-acre Fox Chase residential development in St. Charles.

"To be a developer — and I guess that's what I am — is to be a jack of all trades," he told the Tribune in 1990. "The hard hat has been my salvation. I'm not afraid to put one on and go out in the field to talk to the tradesmen. They know I'm a regular guy."

Mr. Gahlberg, 82, died of cardiac failure on Monday, Dec. 31, at his home in St. Louis, said his daughter Liz Gladney. In recent years he had divided his time between homes in Glen Ellyn and St. Louis, where his two daughters live.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Gahlberg grew up in Tucson, Ariz. He won a golf scholarship to the University of Arizona and after graduating pursued a career as a golf professional.

His first job was as an assistant golf pro at the Oak Park Country Club in River Grove under golfer Errie Ball, the last living participant in the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934.

"He was a very nice man, and was very well liked," said Ball, 102. "He was a good player, and I know he always wanted to make himself better."

While at Oak Park Country Club, Mr. Gahlberg met his future wife, Ann. They married in 1955.

Mr. Gahlberg left the country club to join the Air Force, and he was stationed in Arizona. The Air Force asked him to develop a nine-hole golf course for officers outside Chandler, Ariz. After his discharge, Mr. Gahlberg teamed up with partners to develop the Tubac Valley Country Club in Arizona, where the movie "Tin Cup" later was filmed.

Through his work at Tubac, Mr. Gahlberg began working with legendary developer Del Webb, who sent him to Oak Brook to work on an investment Webb had made with village founder Paul Butler.

Mr. Gahlberg began marketing Butler's vast land holdings in Oak Brook for commercial development, including selling the properties that became Oakbrook Center, McDonald's corporate headquarters and some of the village's early hotels, said Mr. Gahlberg's business partner, Steve Schuster.

Along with Butler, I.C. "Red" Harbour and Samuel Dean, Mr. Gahlberg helped found Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook.

Former Oak Brook Village President Karen Bushy said Mr. Gahlberg wasn't afraid to back away from a proposal if it went against his principles.

"I think he probably passed on a whole lot of opportunities to make more money than he did," Bushy said. "He certainly was successful, but he had this incredible sense of integrity, and after a while, people knew that's just how he was. I think that drew more people to him."

In the late 1980s, Mr. Gahlberg embarked on developing a massive business park in Bolingbrook straddling Interstate Highway 55. A devotee of Western and Southwestern art, Mr. Gahlberg named the project Remington Lakes after the artist Frederic Remington.

"He told me what he wanted to do and he knew exactly what he wanted," Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said. "The project was so well thought out, and the business park has become the address for so many great businesses. He was a remarkable developer."

In the late 1980s, Mr. Gahlberg became the chairman of the capital campaign committee for the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage. He donated a significant starter collection of Southwestern art to the center's gallery, and over his protest it was named the Gahlberg Gallery.

Mr. Gahlberg was part of a group that formed Illinois' first community-based shelter for homeless veterans, the Wheaton-based Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, which opened in 2007.

"He was an exceptional individual, and one of those very special people who cared about veterans," said Wheaton City Councilman Tom Mouhelis.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Gahlberg is survived by another daughter, Susan Hearne; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.